About “Neighbors”

“Neighbors” draws inspiration from an incident on March 18th, 2016 involving the house Cole rented (nicknamed “Sheltuh”) in North Carolina to use as a studio. The house was raided by SWAT team members after complaints from neighbors who assumed the house was being used to produce and sell drugs. No narcotics were found.

The story was originally told by Dreamville’s Elite, a producer credited multiple times on 4 Your Eyez Only, when he spoke with Complex to confirm that most of 4 Your Eyez Only is not from Cole’s perspective, but “Neighbors” on the other hand is.

This beat is actually the instrumental of his 2013 track “Forbidden Fruit” played in reverse. He revealed it during a concert in Anaheim, CA.

Where can I listen to this song and the rest of the album?

What is the Sheltuh?

The “Sheltuh”, or shelter is a house in NC that Cole rented. It’s not for him; it’s a safe haven for all the Dreamville artists and producers with a studio in a basement, in the woods. The majority of 4 Your Eyez Only was recorded there.

What have the artists said about the song?

That lack of representation [of black people in the medias can lead to potentially catastrophic misunderstandings.

Cole went on to note that he did a lot of writing afterward:

I wrote six songs that weekend.

Where did Cole get the name "Sheltuh" from?

Growing up, fellow-Fayetteville artist Nervous Reck was one of Cole’s teenage hip-hop idols. Nervous Reck and FilthE Ritch made up the rap duo Bomm Sheltuh, they mentored Cole when he first began rap and they’ve kept in touch ever since.